1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a pivoting apparatus, and more particularly to a pivoting apparatus with a shielding function.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the rapid development in electronic and information technology, there has been an increase demand in the marketplace for portable electronic devices. Take a foldable mobile phone for example. In the foldable mobile phone, the main body and the folder are coupled via the pivoting apparatus. A flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) is disposed in the pivoting apparatus, and connecting the two different printed circuit boards (PCB) located respectively inside the main body and the folder so that the signals are transmitted by the FPCB. The FPCB is normally disposed near the PCB and even around the antenna module, so the electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems arise accordingly.
In order to conquer the problem mentioned above, in a conventional pivoting apparatus of the foldable mobile phone, two metal plates are disposed on the two faces of the FPCB, and connected to the grounding area of the PCB located inside the folder by several contact pins.
However, metal plates are not only expensive but also lack of flexibility, which deteriorates the smooth movement when the folder is flipped. Besides, the size of metal plates is limited by the space of the pivoting apparatus small so that the FPCB is hardly well covered by the metal plates. Consequently, metal plates have a poor performance in shielding the FPCB, and the electrostatic discharge protection is also weak. Moreover, the grounding efficiency of the metal plate is limited to the contact pins. In conclusion, it lowers communication quality and causes permanent damage to the electronic device due to the problem of both electrostatic discharge and EMI.